# Half smoked cigar in Humidor



## spydera4t (Mar 11, 2011)

My roommate put a half smoked cigar into my humidor the other day without letting me know. Unfortunately he didn't seem to cut off all the ash. My humidor now smells of cigar ash and I'm not sure the best course of action. Any ideas?


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## srfulton (Feb 11, 2011)

I do that too but I cut it off and put it back in with the wraper it came with. Sorry to hear that.


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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

That sucks, jackass he is. I would throw your smokes in a temp humi, ie tupperdor and air out ya humi. 
First...how bad does it stink?


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## piperdown (Jul 19, 2009)

Get the rest of the cigars out of there and place in a tupperware container asap!
You're going to have to let the humidor air out for a good long while and it will necessitate re-seasoning the humidor.

My little guy thought he would help Daddy by collecting some cigars that were half smoked and putting them back in the humidor for me. Didn't get mad (although my heart almost stopped) and just said 'thank you, but those kind go in the trash'. Took four weeks to air it out and I wiped it down with everclear a couple of times to see if that would help. Just took a while. And, like I said, I had to re-season it afterwards. I checked after re-seasoning just to make sure there wasn't any residual smell before I placed my cigars back in.


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## Seasick Sailor (Jan 3, 2011)

I think a swift backhand to the face and an eviction notice will take care of your biggest problem.

Putting all of your sticks in tupperware with some beads while you air out and re-season your humi might fix that problem. If airing it out doesn't work, you may also want to try placing a tray of activated charcoal in the humi with the lid closed for a day or two. That might even be the best thing to try first because you may not need to re-season the humi if it works. Either way I'd take all of your sticks out ASAP.


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## Gorden Gecko (Dec 30, 2007)




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## Zfog (Oct 16, 2010)

RG because this is funny as hell!



Gorden Gecko said:


>


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## BMack (Dec 8, 2010)

You should get him back by putting a used condom in his wallet.


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## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

+1 to what has been said about removing your cigars to temporary storage. You may also have to dispose of your beads, if that's what you use - they will probably have absorbed even more of the odor than the wood in your humi.


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## dezyrme (Dec 23, 2010)

I agree Brian...


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

Seriously,,,the guy put a half smoked cigar back into your humidor? Back in my college days anybody who'd do something like that got himself a "NairAttack"....sneak in while they are sleeping and apply Nair all over their bodies. This seemed to cure stupidity in all forms.


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## Swany (Aug 20, 2010)

Your roomate should be shot on the spot. What a jacka$$. Get him wasted and mess em up pretty good and post the pics on here. Than save up a bunch of butts and continue to put them in his drink.


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## spydera4t (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks all, I'll do my best to prank him good.

Looks like it was over the weekend, so about 3 days in a 50cigar humidor with about 20 cigars in it. Hopefully they don't grab the char too much.


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## madirishman (May 12, 2010)

i would kick his ass


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## [email protected] (Feb 16, 2011)

Buy baking soda and put it in there.


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## 92hatchattack (May 30, 2009)

Your cigars are ruined. Box them up and PM me for my address. I will dispose of them properly for you.


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## astripp (Jan 12, 2011)

Activated charcoal on amazon is cheap.


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## Space Cowboy (Nov 25, 2010)

Gah! A kidney punch is in order!


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## spydera4t (Mar 11, 2011)

I'll start with the baking soda and swap to activated charcoal when I can find some. Maybe now I can justify grabbing a larger humidor with a key


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## bresdogsr (Jan 27, 2005)

Should be able to find activated charcoal at a pet store in the aquarium section. 
Good Luck.


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## 68 Lotus (Jan 13, 2011)

Kitty Litter is good for everything!....Absorbs odors..(as seen on TV & Label)...Maintains Humidity!...As demonstrated on this site!....:hmm:....And works best is you separate the blue one from the rest and just use them!..(for advanced Odor control!)....:laugh:


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## spydera4t (Mar 11, 2011)

Hurray new options. I'll ask my buddy for some kitty litter to see how that works.

Sorry for posting this in the wrong forum, appreciate the advice.


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## 68 Lotus (Jan 13, 2011)

spydera4t said:


> Hurray new options. I'll ask my buddy for some kitty litter to see how that works.
> 
> Sorry for posting this in the wrong forum, appreciate the advice.


As John suggested!...



> Should be able to find activated charcoal at a pet store in the aquarium section.
> Good Luck.


...A good call here!...:thumb:

Try one of those Baking Soda, (fridge/freezer) boxes for the Odor!...Or use it raw, (fresh box)

But save the KL for Rh control! :mrgreen:


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## xJaCkSlApx (May 7, 2010)

*facepalm*


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## primetime76 (Feb 8, 2011)

spydera4t said:


> My roommate put a half smoked cigar into my humidor the other day without letting me know. Unfortunately he didn't seem to cut off all the ash. My humidor now smells of cigar ash and I'm not sure the best course of action. Any ideas?


 My suggestions:
:kicknuts:

oke:

:bitchslap:

:caked:
:fish:
:mn
AND
:fu


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## GeoffbCET (Mar 15, 2011)

What I do to get the cigar smell out of my truck is place a cup of fresh open vinegar in the cup holder in the back two seats and then grind up some FRESH coffee beans and put them in a sock and tie a knot on the sock. Takes about a week and the smell of the cigar gets absorbed really well. I would definitely try some vinegar and baking soda as some other members suggested. You need something to neutralize the air. Keep us posted!


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## Tlox (Aug 9, 2010)

GeoffbCET said:


> What I do to get the cigar smell out of my truck is place a cup of fresh open vinegar in the cup holder in the back two seats and then grind up some FRESH coffee beans and put them in a sock and tie a knot on the sock. Takes about a week and the smell of the cigar gets absorbed really well. I would definitely try some vinegar and baking soda as some other members suggested. You need something to neutralize the air. Keep us posted!


I would do the coffee beans even if there wasn't an odor you're trying to rid... I would love my car to smell like fresh coffee all the time


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## TylerDurden (Feb 20, 2011)

Gorden Gecko said:


>


Nothing else needs to be said!


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## fiddlegrin (Feb 8, 2009)

TylerDurden said:


> Nothing else needs to be said!


Mostly true....

Except that no one has yet said that;

_*Hanging is too good for the dumb bastard!*_ :rant:

.


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## Stinkdyr (Jun 19, 2009)

Yep, he pretty much owes you a blumpkin for that retard move!


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## GeoffbCET (Mar 15, 2011)

Stinkdyr said:


> Yep, he pretty much owes you a blumpkin for that retard move!


For some reason that reminds me of blue waffle. That image is just shocking!


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## Strickland (Feb 15, 2011)

Well, I can't talk much shit about your roommate because I did the same thing last month.

I put some activated charcoal in there and the smell was gone in two days... you can buy it cheap at WalMart in the fish section. If it's cheaper, just buy a small box of pre-made aquarium filter cartridges in the same section. They have activated charcoal inside and it's already in a permeable little baggie.


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## spydera4t (Mar 11, 2011)

So I tried 2 methods to get rid of the smell.

1. Baking Soda - about 6 tablespoons on a plate - The stuff was about 2 months old and had been opened before. After about 16hrs of this, there was no noticeable decline in the smell, being impatient, I decided to start shopping around.

2. Fresh Wave Vacuum Beads - Found these at a local store - Used about 2tbs - 2 hours with the humidor closed and the smell was gone. Some, but very little, of the smell of the beads was left in the humidor. After about 20 min of the humidor open after removing the beads, almost no trace of the scent.

I'm attempting to re-season the humidor now, but if all goes well, I think my problem is gone and I can return all my sticks.

Anyone have any experience with this product? Here is a link to the gel, which I would assume is similar to the beads.

I cant post links, but search "Fresh Wave"


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## beercritic (Feb 13, 2011)

If he's fond of high-end hooch, replace it with cheap stuff (you can eventually give the good stuff back). Now get a couple of inch long stubs, and drop them into the bottle. 

That'll learn him good. Glad to help.


Cheers,


Joe


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## bigdave_79 (Sep 28, 2011)

Hey spydera4t,

I recently had the same problem as you and now the humidor smells like and ashtray. Did you have any luck getting rid of the smell? Did the Fresh wave beads work? Or should I just buy a new humidor? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks



spydera4t said:


> So I tried 2 methods to get rid of the smell.
> 
> 1. Baking Soda - about 6 tablespoons on a plate - The stuff was about 2 months old and had been opened before. After about 16hrs of this, there was no noticeable decline in the smell, being impatient, I decided to start shopping around.
> 
> ...


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## waylman (Aug 15, 2011)

I did the same thing! I put the half smoked stick in a ziploc bag but the stench permeated throughout my humi anyway!

I'm trying some activated charcoal now. Hoping for the best!


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## bigdave_79 (Sep 28, 2011)

@waylman

Let me know how it goes!


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## ghe-cl (Apr 9, 2005)

After letting the humi air out you could try using some extremely fine grit sandpaper -- 600, maybe -- on the Spanish cedar to open up the wood again and try to remove any vestiges of the odor. After sanding and blowing it out thoroughly, let it air out again.


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## NoShhhSherlock (Mar 30, 2011)

BMack said:


> You should get him back by putting a used condom in his wallet.


Haha, that is horrible. But I bet he would get the point real fast not to F with the humidor .

Sorry to hear that OP, I can't really add anything as great advice has already been said.


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## MrFuentes (Aug 9, 2011)

Agreed



Zfog said:


> RG because this is funny as hell!


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## MrFuentes (Aug 9, 2011)

LLLLLLLOOOOOLLLLLLL...good one.



BMack said:


> You should get him back by putting a used condom in his wallet.


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## waylman (Aug 15, 2011)

bigdave_79 said:


> @waylman
> 
> Let me know how it goes!


charcoal worked well!
I took all my sticks out and left the charcoal in a bowl for a couple days. My sticks still smell a little "ashy" but the humi is back to normal.


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## Michigan_Moose (Oct 11, 2011)

BMack said:


> You should get him back by putting a used condom in his wallet.


ROFL! I just had half of HP look at me when i read this and busted out laughing...lol.


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## sengjc (Nov 15, 2010)

Not if you want your stogies and humi smelling of stale smoke.


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## Andrewdk (Feb 3, 2011)

piperdown said:


> Get the rest of the cigars out of there and place in a tupperware container asap!
> You're going to have to let the humidor air out for a good long while and it will necessitate re-seasoning the humidor.
> 
> My little guy thought he would help Daddy by collecting some cigars that were half smoked and putting them back in the humidor for me. Didn't get mad (although my heart almost stopped) and just said 'thank you, but those kind go in the trash'. Took four weeks to air it out and I wiped it down with everclear a couple of times to see if that would help. Just took a while. And, like I said, I had to re-season it afterwards. I checked after re-seasoning just to make sure there wasn't any residual smell before I placed my cigars back in.


Damn, don't you just love those "helping daddy" moments, fortunately my boy has mimicked his mum in calling my cigars "daddy's yucky stuff" and won't go near them, but one day...

OP first make your room mate eat that half smoked stick as reprimand. then go with the charcoal or even bicarb of soda idea to speed up the process. Would definitely air out till dry and re-season as the moisture in the wood could retain the smell.


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## bigdave_79 (Sep 28, 2011)

So I finally managed to salvage both my humidor and my cigars. The half-smoked stick had only been in there for two days but managed to really stink everything up.

For anyone who ends up having the same problem, and wants to try and salvage their humidor instead of buying a new one, here's what I did and it seems to have worked:

1) I removed the cigars from the humidor and transferred them to a tupperware container. I put some kitty litter crystals in with the cigars to keep the humidity up and also put a small shot glass of activated charcoal in there. It seems to have kept the cigars nicely humidified and they no longer stink. Smoked a couple already and they taste fine - lucky!
2) The smell had permeated into my humidification device, into the humidity beads I was using, and even into the magnet that held it in place - I just got rid of everything and used another one I had lying around.
3) I let the humidor air out for around 2 days or so.
4) Sanded out the inside of the humidor using a fine sanding sponge - I bought one from Lowes for around $2. Then blew out the dust. Be careful - the dust is an irritant so don't breathe it in.
5) I put about half a cup of activated charcoal in the humidor and left it closed for 3-4 days. It completely got rid of the smell. I have a small desktop humidor so if yours is larger you may need to use more activated charcoal. You can buy activated charcoal from the "Aquarium supplies" section of walmart for around $6.
6) Re-seasoned the humidor and put the cigars back in
7) Remember NEVER to leave a half smoked stick inside!!

Good luck!


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## silentBob (Jul 13, 2014)

first off...i love how almost every scenario in the cigar world has come up on this forum at one point or another and has a solution of some type. 

Second..I am freaking out because this just happened to me. I clipped a cigar and figured id just smoke the rest later and put it in the humi in the meantime. I opened it up the next day and it reeaked. I didnt even put any ashe it was just an already smoked cigar. But now everything smells...I followed the advice and put all my cigars in tupperware and sprayed down all my beads/magnets/hygro with distilled water. Aired out the humi and then stuck a bowl of baking soda in there. So idk whats gonna happen now but I hope to god I didnt just ruin my new humi and cigars. Smells like stale smoke.

Also some of my cigars now have the smell...are they ruined? They should still smoke the same I would think right? It couldnt really ruin the whole smoke.....could it?


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## Joe Bonzo (Dec 20, 2013)

Were your cigars in cello? If they were only together for a day I wouldn't think they would be too bad, but only by smoking them will you know for sure. I'd try to let them air a bit...not dry up mind you but let them breathe by removing the lid of the tupperware for a little while and see if that helps.


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## knilas (Sep 15, 2013)

The charcoal suggestion was spot on!


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## brownpeter335 (May 9, 2014)

Besides airing it out, someone mentioned sanding. Sounds like the best avenue to me. Eva your cigars to a tipper-rod, and leave your humi open for a week. Sand it down with some extra extra fine paper, wipe it down with distilled, and re-season. HOPEFULLY, the cigar gods will shine upon you and your humidor will be fine and dandy in three weeks.


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## Charger Fan (Feb 27, 2014)

I'm not sure what time zone you are in. But if you look at the clock you'll clearly see it's time for a new room mate.


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## silentBob (Jul 13, 2014)

Joe Bonzo said:


> Were your cigars in cello? If they were only together for a day I wouldn't think they would be too bad, but only by smoking them will you know for sure. I'd try to let them air a bit...not dry up mind you but let them breathe by removing the lid of the tupperware for a little while and see if that helps.


Wow, I wish they were. I had the bright idea of removing all my cigars from the cello before putting them in the humi bc I thought they looked nicer that way. >< Whyyyyyy. lol

But yeah I made a new thread about this in the "cigar questions" section..thanks for the advice! So far my humi seems to have recovered..cigars ...not sure yet


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## TubaDawg (May 17, 2013)

Please post about how the results of your cigar salvage operation works.


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## silentBob (Jul 13, 2014)

TubaDawg said:


> Please post about how the results of your cigar salvage operation works.


Sure no problem. So my first step in getting rid of the odor was obviously removing all the cigars from the humidor asap. Then I filled the humidor with ground coffee mix. That worked..but the result was a coffee scented humidor. Seemed like i just traded one odor for another. I read on another forum about someone having success using a bowl of ammonia. So I tried that next to get rid of the coffee smell. That surprisingly did the trick. And fast. I only had to leave the bowl of ammonia(not the lemon scented one) in there for a couple hours. Then I just left it for a day to air out with a fan blowing on it. Re-seasoned it. Looks good now..no more odor. I also had a bowl of activated charcoal and baking soda in there at all times (Although I am not sure they actually did much).

I followed similar steps trying to repair the ash smelling cigars in the Tupperware. I would recommend for the cigars just put them in tupperware with a shot glass of coffee beans and activated charcoal or baking soda. Dont put ammonia with the cigars. They just smelled like ammonia for awhile and still have faint scent of it...it seems like it is dissipating though... with time. I am slowly moving them back into the humi.


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## TubaDawg (May 17, 2013)

Thank you for posting your solution, Dillon. Hope your cigars continue to improve as well.


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## Joe Bonzo (Dec 20, 2013)

silentBob said:


> Sure no problem. So my first step in getting rid of the odor was obviously removing all the cigars from the humidor asap. Then I filled the humidor with ground coffee mix. That worked..but the result was a coffee scented humidor. Seemed like i just traded one odor for another. I read on another forum about someone having success using a bowl of ammonia. So I tried that next to get rid of the coffee smell. That surprisingly did the trick. And fast. I only had to leave the bowl of ammonia(not the lemon scented one) in there for a couple hours. Then I just left it for a day to air out with a fan blowing on it. Re-seasoned it. Looks good now..no more odor. I also had a bowl of activated charcoal and baking soda in there at all times (Although I am not sure they actually did much).
> 
> I followed similar steps trying to repair the ash smelling cigars in the Tupperware. I would recommend for the cigars just put them in tupperware with a shot glass of coffee beans and activated charcoal or baking soda. Dont put ammonia with the cigars. They just smelled like ammonia for awhile and still have faint scent of it...it seems like it is dissipating though... with time. I am slowly moving them back into the humi.


I used activated charcoal in a humi I got from a shop that was pretty heavy on the incense...the thing stunk like the shop for weeks before I started using it! The charcoal seemed to help but it took a while...I think I left it in there for 2 weeks. Crumpled newspaper is also pretty good at absorbing smells. Haven't tried the coffee or the ammonia...but I do enjoy coffee infused cigars, so maybe I'd like that!

Good luck, hope the smokes turn out okay.


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## BryGuySC (Aug 31, 2014)

I hope you at least made him sit and watch all of the work he caused you! 
I think buying you some of your favorite sticks would be a good gesture of apology!


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